HSBC’s Noel Quinn (left) took home £10.6m last year, while Citigroup boss Jane Fraser (right) earned more than £20m.
Two of Britain’s top bankers took home bumper pay packages in 2023.
HSBC almost doubled its chief executive’s salary, while the British woman in charge of Citigroup – dubbed the “First Lady of Wall Street” – earned more than £20 million last year.
HSBC’s Noel Quinn saw his profits soar to £10.6m from £5.6m in 2022.
And Citigroup boss Jane Fraser – the first woman to run a major US investment bank – got a 6 per cent rise to £20.6m.
Fraser, who is Scottish, received £19.4m in 2022. The increase came after what the board said was “the most significant set of changes to its organizational and management model since the 2008 financial crisis.” .
Fraser, who began his career at Goldman Sachs before joining consultancy McKinsey, earned a base salary of £1.2m and bonuses of £19.4m despite a 40 per cent drop in Citi’s profits during the year as it reorganized, eliminating 20,000 jobs.
The board said the package “reflects its belief that Ms. Fraser’s strategic and other priorities are strong and that she is executing them promptly and thoughtfully, with a view to driving long-term sustainable growth, improved returns and higher security and solidity”.
Quinn’s salary almost doubled as HSBC announced record pre-tax profits and raised its bonus pool to its highest level in a decade. The £3bn set aside was more than rivals.
HSBC said it reflected better performance: Barclays this week cut its portfolio by 3 per cent to £1.75 billion.
Quinn, a 37-year HSBC veteran, said he did not decide his own package, which is set by the board and approved by shareholders, and much of it is performance-based.
He said: ‘2023 was a very strong performance and that is reflected in my personal remuneration. “Many of the long-term incentives awarded three years ago had very clear performance metrics and those metrics are what drove what was awarded.”